Council, mayor agree on third-party investigation of former acting chief

JONATHAN BURTON

Published
12:00 am EDT, Wednesday, October 19, 2011

MIDDLETOWN -- The investigation into Deputy Chief Patrick McMahon should be handled by a third party, not members of the Middletown Police Department, council members requested in a letter Wednesday.

And Mayor Sebastian Giuliano said he agrees.

In a letter addressed to Mayor Sebastian Giuliano, Council Majority Leader Thomas Serra said he and the majority caucus of the council believe the pending investigation of the former acting chief should be handled by the state police. City employees may be material witnesses in the investigation and McMahon is entitled to a fair and impartial investigation, Serra said.

"We feel that the best way to protect Deputy Chief McMahon's rights to due process as well as the city's interests, is to have an independent agency, such as the state police, conduct the investigation," Serra wrote in his letter to the mayor.

Giuliano said he completely agrees. He doesn't want the city police department to conduct the interview because it is too close to the situation.

"I agree with Councilman Serra," Giuliano said, during a phone interview Wednesday. "Before I got this letter today, I had made that decision."

During a press conference Monday, Giuliano said the new acting chief, William McKenna, would be handling the investigation for the Middletown Police Department. But McKenna told him it would be best if a third party handled it, Giuliano said.

"McKenna came to me and said he thought it should get out of the department's hands," Giuliano said. "I agreed with him."

Serra said state police have provided assistance to other Connecticut municipalities who had to investigate police conduct.

"If, for any reason the state police declines a request to conduct the investigation, we respectfully request that you call a special meeting of the Common Council to conduct an executive session concerning how the investigation will be conducted," Serra wrote.

State police officials could not be reached Wednesday for comment.

McMahon is accused of drinking alcohol while wearing his badge and gun. Drinking alcoholic beverages while in uniform, or wearing your gun and badge, according to police, is a violation of Middletown Police Department's General Orders.

Giuliano said McMahon has admitted that he violated the General Orders, once at the NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner on Oct. 6, which Giuliano attended. But, according to Giuliano, that incident is not under investigation.

Giuliano would not confirm or deny whether the investigation involves McMahon's alleged conduct at Mezzo Grille, which McMahon has denied.

Giuliano said he made the decision to demote McMahon back to deputy chief "because someone has to perform the duties of chief." Since McMahon was only acting chief, he was not "technically" demoted, officials have said.

It's "ridiculous" that Democrats are saying his motives were political, Giuliano said Wednesday.

"I think the question should be: are [the Democrats] saying I did the wrong thing here?" he asked. "Are you coming to McMahon's defense now?"

Giuliano said he's not sure if he will give McMahon his acting chief position back if the results of the investigation show that he is innocent.

"I don't think so," he said.

Giuliano also withdrew his recommendation of McMahon as permanent police chief on Monday, which he has twice submitted to the Common Council. The question of whether he should be appointed chief, however, remains on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Jonathan Burton can be reached by email at jburton@middletownpress.com. Text MIDNEWS to 22700 to get news alerts directly to your cell phone. Standard msg & data rates may apply. Text HELP for help. Text STOP to cancel.